Hair-raising questions
by wunderwolfer
Summary: Fang likes Lightning's hair, so does Lightning. Flight,


Hmmmm how to I describe this one-shot...I honestly have no idea but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

It's Fang x Lightning and I own nadda.

**Warnings: **Fem x Fem pairings *pause for dramatic gasp* and one minor spoiler. Oh and no beta so expect grammatical naughtiness.

* * *

"I like your hair," Fang said.

Lightning looked up from her gunblade to see whom Fang was talking too and was surprised to find that the two women were alone. Everyone else had gone to bed and she hadn't even noticed.

"Sorry what did you say?" Lightning asked wondering if she had misheard her.

"I said I like your hair," Fang said slightly louder. "It's a very unusual colour."

"Oh...thanks." she answered. Lightning was used to being complimented, what she wasn't used to was being flattered. She turned her attention back to her polishing her gunblade to hide her reddening cheeks.

Fang lay down on her side leaning on her elbow. "So how do you dye it? Have you got a bottle hidden away in your leg purse."

Lightning's head snapped up, she was outraged. "It is not dyed!"

"Really?" Fang asked. She sat upright and scrutinised the soldier's hairdo.

"Yes! It runs in the family." Lightning's angry features dropped as Fang began crawling around the fire towards her. Close proximity and being alone with the huntress without the distraction of the battlefield were always nerve-wracking experiences for the solider. She subconsciously leaned away as Fang got closer and closer. And closer and closer until she felt that inevitable feeling of being dazed by the beautiful woman's presence, and all she could do is watch as Fang slowly reached up and held a lock of Lightning's curled hair.

Fang hummed thoughtfully as she gently rubbed the strands of Lightning's hair between her fingers. "So do straighten one side or curl the other?"

Feeling that admitting to the mischievous huntress that the only luxury item she actually carried in her leg purse was a solar-powered mini straightening tongs would be a mistake, Lightning lied. "It's natural," she answered avoiding eye contact.

"Really?" Fang hummed again and thoughtfully tilted her head to the side. She moved slightly closer raising her hand to touch the hair tucked behind Lightning's right ear. Lightning's eyes rolled back slightly as Fang's fingers ran through her hair. There was something strangely luxurious about it. The fingertips against her scalp, the slight tug on her hair as they moved, the repetitiveness- it was soothing but invigorating as well, and more than a little disconcerting for the soldier.

"You know in my village people would give their lovers a lock of their hair before they went away to war."

"That's stupid," Lightning blurted in response, trying to pull back some of her stoicism even as her eyes began to close. "Victory is down to training, discipline, experience and good leadership, not luck."

Fang chuckled, "after all we've been through are you really sure that there isn't a little bit of luck involved?" She smiled and Lightning couldn't stop herself from returning the smile as the Pulsian's delightful fingers distracted Lightning from her own character. "And besides," Fang continued without waiting for an answer, "it wasn't a lucky charm but a love token."

"A l-love token," Lightning stuttered as Fang's caresses moved to a sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Uh-huh."

_Fang was a warrior and Fang went to war. _"Were you ever given one," Lightning wondered aloud and tried you sound nonchalant.

"Nope," Fang unknowingly reassured the worried Cocoonian, moving even closer and lowering her voice, "but I can understand it. Having something to remind you of what you're fighting for must be encouraging, don't you agree?"

Her closeness, her stroking fingers on her sensitive scalp, her low tone, Fang was stunning in every sense of the word and Lightning could only hum in agreement as she forgot the ability to form words, and forgot to care as her eyes finally closed in blissful content.

"I mean would you really deny a suitor a simple love token that may inspire their survival?" Fang whispered in her ear.

"No," Lightning dreamily sighed as Fang breathed against her ear. Right now she was feeling so wonderful she couldn't deny anyone anything.

"Well that's good to know," Fang said in a normal tone and removed her hand from Lightning's hair. Lightning's eyes snapped open as the huntress stood up and began quickly walking away. "Been nice chatting to you. Must do it again sometime," she shouted over her shoulder at the dumbstruck Cocoonian.

Lightning wasn't one for profanities or cursing but if she had been a number of them would have left her lips at the retreating huntress.

Hot, bothered and feeling seriously stupid she angrily ran a hand through her hair and stopped short. Something didn't feel right.

xxxXOXxxx

"Give it back Fang!"

"No!"

Sazh stumbled out of the guy's tent to find the two women fighting yet again. Shouting and struggling Lightning had Fang pinned on the ground as she tried to pries an item from Fang's hand. It wasn't the first time he'd had to break up one of their skirmishes. All their 'flirting' and frustration was becoming a little tiresome and he did not appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Give it to me back to me now!" Lightning screamed in Fang's face.

"Why what are you going to do with it stick it back on?"

"That's not the point-"

"What the _hell _is goin' on," Sazh bellowed. Stunned and looking incredibly guilty, the two women were silent for a split second before they both began explaining at the same time.

"What's going on" Vanille yawned walking out of the ladies' tent. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and regarded Lightning straddling Fang. "Are they flirting again?" she asked Sazh.

"It is _not_ flirting!" Lightning vehemently denied.

"Maybe not in the conventional sense, maybe not for most humans, but you two are real special," he smiled and with a simple wave of his hand he gave their current positions as evidence of that fact.

Lightning scrambled away from huntress and stood upright. "It is not flirting!" She repeated quietly.

"What's going on" Hope asked from the tent behind Sazh (loud enough to be heard above Snow's snoring).

"They're flirting again," Vanille and Sazh answered at the same time.

"_ITISNOTFLIRTING!_" Lightning yelled. "She," the soldier pointed at the accused who was still comfortably lying on floor, "has stolen from me."

Vanille gasped,"Fang!" she chastised.

"Whaaaaaaat!" Fang groaned belligerently. She stood up with a huff and folded her arms. "It was just a bit of her hair," she reasoned folding her arms.

"You stole some of her hair," Vanille said scrunching up her nose. Fang nodded shyly (a nervous look that Vanille knew well). "Awwwww," Vanille cooed soppily as she gleefully hugged herself (she was a sucker for romance). "Fang that's so sweet."

"Sweet! SWEET! Look at it," Lightning ordered marching the few steps towards Sazh and Vanille. She lifted the straight side of her hair and pointed.

They both leaned forward. "Where," Sazh squinted.

Lightning tutted. "There," she directed bringing her finger closer to a very small section of hair that was slightly shorter than the rest of it.

"I can barely see anything," Vanille agreed with Sazh.

Fang stepped in, "that's because I was very consciences and took it from that side," she explained fluffing Lightning's hair with her fingertips, "so she could straighten it this way and everyone would be none the wiser."

"Will you stop touching it," Lightning fumed smacking Fang's hand away and smoothing her hair back down.

"How did she even get close enough to cut it" Sazh wondered aloud.

"She used subterfuge and-and," Lightning hesitated as her face turned a deeper shade of red, "her womanly wiles," she said quickly.

"Womanly wiles! Oh là là," Sazh commented and laughed along with Vanille.

"Fang, you rogue," Vanille giggled playfully punching Fang's shoulder who responded with a small grin.

Lightning was completely baffled, "why the hell are you congratulating her? She didn't ask for a lock of my hair. She just took a knife and cut it when my eyes were closed."

Sazh groaned. As funny as the situation was, the huntress had been in the wrong and Sazh realised that the quicker Fang apologised the quicker he could go back to bed. He really was starting to feel like their parent. "Fang you know Lightning is very particular about her hair..."

"I am not," Lightning interjected.

"...so you should have asked her first." Sazh finished deciding to ignore Lightning's blatant lie. He'd seen her scurry off into the bushes with her solar-powered straightners on more than one occasion.

"I know I should have asked but..." Fang sighed hanging her head, "if I'd asked she would have said no and...I needed it."

"For what?" Lightning frowned. "Etro! You haven't got a hair fetish have you?" She grimaced.

"No!" Fang ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. "Everything is just so messed up, our focus, my memories, our brands," she explained. "You don't know what it's like for me to watch your brands change every day and know there's nothing I can do about it. We fight everyday and it still feels like we're crawling towards an solution while having a countdown loudly tick-tick ticking away in the background."

"I know I'm not the only one who's feeling anxious and frustrated," she acknowledged looking around at her friends," but when I'm impatient I get stupid and that means I'm putting the people I care about in danger. Hope nearly died today battling that behemoth because I was too eager to finish it quickly and if it hadn't been for Lightning healing him..." She sighed and sadly hung her head again. "I needed something tangible to ground me and give me something to hope for. I'm sorry."

No-one could really argue with her logic, although stealing hair was probably the last thought on their minds, they were could all understand the need to feel comfort. Vanille pouted sadly and Sazh put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Lightning's eyes, Sazh noticed, had never left the huntress the entire time she'd been talking. and her features had softened in sympathy as she regarded the upset woman.

"Well," Sazh said "no-one can blame Fang for feeling scared and frustrated, that's nothing to be ashamed about. And although her idea of comfort was a little...out there, she's apologised so let's all be friends." He advised and smiled when the two warriors agreed. "Now Fang if you want my advice stop teasing and stealing her hair and just kiss her."

"What!" Lightning choked in surprise. That's the last thing she expected to hear.

"Yeah Fang you should just kiss her!" Vanille encouraged.

"No she should not!" Lightning barked. Not that she was opposed to the idea she was just terrified of the consequences. _What if she did it wrong? What if her breath smelt - what had she eaten for dinner? What if Fang dumped her and broke her heart? What if she was so repressed she couldn't love anyone? What if Fang's kisses turned her into a gooey love mess and it ruined her stoic character? What if Fang didn't like it? What if they liked it so much they forgot their focus and everyone turned Cie'th because they were too busy sucking face to care?_ It was too many questions, too soon and all too much. And she wasn't ready for it and she certainly was comfortable with being pressured into it.

"I dunno. We flirt all the time-"

"We do not!" Lightning spluttered.

"-but kissing her...I think that would make her really mad," Fang said sadly.

"Why are you talking about me like I'm not here," Lightning complained agitatedly stamping her feet to try and gain their attention. "I am standing _right here_!"

"How much madder can she get?" Vanille reasoned ignoring Lightning's tantrum.

"That's true," Fang agreed, thoughtfully watching Lightning from the corner of her eye.

"THAT'S WHAT" Lightning exclaimed in surprise.

Sazh was highly amused by Lightning's skittish behaviour - it was so un-Lightning-like for her to look like a cornered animal. But despite her offensive stance and denials Lightning was still standing right there waiting and Sazh felt that was a promising sign. "Now tonight's madness is over I'm going to bed," Sazh smiled and gave Vanille a quick kiss goodnight on the forehead.

Vanille grinned quickly catching onto his plan to leave the two women alone. "Good idea. G'night ladies." Vanille waved at the two women.

Standing a metre away from eachother and both looking incredibly nervous, Fang half-heartedly waved back as Vanille returned to their tent whereas Lightning just looked on wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

xxxXOXxxx

Sazh lifted down the flap of his tent behind him, quietly chuckling at Lightning's terrified expression when he left the two women alone outside his tent...

_"W-what are you doing?"_

_"What does it look like I'm doing? I always listen to my elders."_

...he plumped up his pillow and with a satisfied sigh of relief he lay down on his mat. He felt wonderfully exhausted - just the right amount so even Snow's snoring wasn't going to prevent him from getting a good night's rest...

_"Since when?"_

_"Since they started making sense. Now...just...just don't slap me 'til after."_

_"After wh-mhmmmm."_

And then there was a telling silence that Sazh didn't want to listen too or think about. Vanille on the otherhand, who was obviously imaging what he did not want to imagine, let out a muffled squeal from the other tent. She always did love romances...

_"So can I keep it, please?"_

_"Fine but I reserve the right to retaliate. Don't be shocked if you wake up one day to find me shaving your head."_

_Fang chuckled. "I think a lock of your hair is worth the risk."_

_"Tch you're so cheessy."_

_"Only with you love, you inspire me."_

_"Etro," Lightning laughed, "just shut up and kiss me you fool."_

_"Yes Ma'am."_

And then there was blissful silence, and it was everything Sazh could ever wish for in his current situation. He sighed happily as he drifted off into a happy, dreamless, uninterrupted sleep.

* * *

...And they all turned Cie'th. The End (only joking).

Well what was that about? To be honest I'm not really sure. It stemmed from a comment to a Fanfictionaire extraordinaire where I proposed that I'm such a major Fangirl I'd steal a lock of Lightning's hair. Then I wondered how would I go about stealing it, and then how would Fang steal it and voila this oneshot was born. Of course this strategy wouldn't work for me, I lack Fang's allures.

Ehhh..I wrote this really quickly, and I think you can tell. But it was one of those stories that you need to get out of your head. Let me know what'ya think and thanks for reading.


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